Commissioners imposed a 1,000-person limit and directed deputies to restrict parking on the roads leading to the popular county park at the request of Commission Chairman Hal Marston.

Marston called the situation ''very volatile'' and said, ''We're just fortunate that there was no loss of life.''

Officials of the Orange County Sheriff's Office tried to downplay the incident. Spokesman Randy Means said that it was being ''blown out of proportion'' and that arrests for battery on a law enforcement officer are common.

However, a sheriff's office internal memorandum and a report on the incident show how concerned deputies were about the disturbance that occurred near the springs in the park about 6 p.m. Monday.

A report by Deputy James Dendinger says that an Apopka man was arguing loudly and profanely with his girlfriend over whether he should return her purse. Dendinger and Deputy Victor Fernandez, who were working off-duty at the park, ''pleaded'' with him to return the purse and leave the park.

The man began yelling profanities at deputies and a crowd of about 75 men gathered, Dendinger's report said.

''We were not so concerned with the language employed . . . as with the tenor and hostility of the crowd. A breach of the peace was occurring before our eyes,'' Dendinger wrote.

The deputies tried to arrest the man but he struggled with them, punching both of them in the face. They wrestled him to the ground.

''It became impossible to handcuff (him) due to the sea of bodies surrounding us,'' Dendinger wrote.

Fernandez said in an interview Thursday that ''We were kicked, we were hit, we were scratched, we were bit, we were spit on.''

He said members of the crowd grabbed Dendinger's radio and threw it to the ground and one man tried to make off with Dendinger's nightstick. A number of people were trying to snatch their guns, he said. Fernandez said he called for help, and within five minutes, six deputies arrived. He said the crowd dispersed when the deputies arrived and the park was closed about an hour earlier than usual.

Dendinger wrote that Fernandez lost his prescription sunglasses valued at $50, his trousers were torn and he had a bruise under his eye. Dendinger said his glasses were bent and his radio holder was broken. Both had bruises.

''The fact that we were not injured more seriously can be attributed to the lack of a mob leader rather than any feelings of constraint on the part of its members,'' Dendinger wrote.

Sgt. Harold Stickley wrote in a memo to Undersheriff Larry Shultz that too many people, drinking and ''a large amount of racial tension'' are causing problems at the park.

Stickley was unavailable Thursday, but Capt. Lane Norman said he had never heard of any racial problems at the park between patrons or with deputies.

''Our guys were just enforcing the law. There were no racial overtones at all,'' he said.

He said the deputies did an outstanding job and avoided using force.

Deputies arrested Dexter Leon Howard, 22, 67 W. Ninth St., Apopka, on two charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, two charges of resisting arrest with violence and one of breach of the peace. Another man, Jesseecq Hill Jr., 20, 4697 Edgemoor St., Orlando, was charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest with violence.

This weekend, Norman said parking on Cedar Street, Kelly Park Drive and Baptist Camp Road will be prohibited. A deputy will be posted at the gate to tell parkgoers that no alcohol is permitted and more deputies will be working at the park.